Review

Conceived as an "online miniseries event" during the 2008 writers'' strike, Dr. Horrible''s Sing-Along Blog is a 42-minute musical romp that bears the distinctive stamp of Joss Whedon. Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) plays the title character, who video-blogs about his twin goals to join the Evil League of Evil and to woo the fair Penny (Felicia Day, of Whedon''s Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Web series The Guild), a woman he met at the local laundromat. Dr. Horrible is foiled on both fronts, however, by his arch-nemesis, the self-absorbed superhero Captain Hammer (Nathan Fillion, Whedon''s Firefly).

Dr. Horrible was written by Whedon, his brothers Zack and Jed, and Jed''s fiancee Maurissa Tancharoen, and the songs were written by Joss and Jed (who also produced, orchestrated, played, etc.) with some lyrics by Tancharoen. (Jed and Tancharoen have backup singing roles.) The offbeat, off-the-cuff humor is laugh-out-loud funny, and just like Dr. Horrible wants to take over the world, the songs will take over your head: they''re engaging ("My Freeze Ray"), stirring ("My Eyes"), and sweet ("Penny''s Song"). "So They Say" is particularly evocative of Jonathan Larson''s Rent, but as with Joss Whedon''s musical episode of Buffy, "Once More with Feeling," the influences are diverse. It''s hard to imagine a better cast. Harris, who''s sung Sondheim on Broadway, is a great lead and clearly the best singer, Day is completely charming, and who better than Captain Tightpants to play the pompous superhero? One could argue about the ending, and the independent budget shows, but Dr. Horrible''s Sing-Along Blog is a complete hoot for people who enjoy musicals with quirky humor. Plan on watching it multiple times. --David Horiuchi

On the DVDEven if you''ve already watched or downloaded Dr. Horrible''s Sing-Along Blog, a number of bonus features might entice you. There are two commentary tracks: Harris, the three Whedons, Tancharoen, Day, and Fillion recorded a spirited track discussing the movie, and there''s also "Commentary! The Musical" in which they ignore the movie and sing about the writers'' strike and each other (e.g., Fillion sings "I''m Better than Neil")--the songs aren''t as good as the Horrible songs, but it''s good silly fun. A 20-minute making-of discusses the cast, the recording sessions, and how the movie became a phenomenon, and 10 videos (a half-hour total) were recorded by fans who want to join the Evil League of Evil. And when''s the last time you wanted to pause the FBI warning? --David Horiuchi

Release Note

Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) stars as Billy, A.K.A. Dr. Horrible, a budding super-villain whose plans for world domination continually go awry. His two goals: getting accepted into the Evil League of Evil, and working up the guts to speak to his laundromat crush Penny, played by Felicia Day (The Guild). The only thing standing in his way is Captain Hammer, Billy''s superhero arch-nemesis played by Nathan Fillion (Firefly). With one big score, Billy could get into the E.L.E. and earn the respect of Penny, but only if he can keep her away from the dashing Captain Hammer...

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